Thailand's new Suvarnabhmi airport sees successful first commercial flights

Thailand's new Suvarnabhumi Airport on Bangkok's outskirts has finally taken off by receiving the landing of its inaugural commercial test flight on Saturday as scheduled, after a long-delayed 45 years' construction.

A Boeing 747-400 aircraft of national flag carrier Thai Airways International (THAI), boarding Thai Caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and some senior government officials, departed from the old Don Muang Airport in Bangkok and became the first flight to land on Suvarnabhumi Airport's runway in the Samut Prakan Province 50 kilometers from downtown Bangkok, at 8:09 a.m. Saturday.

There are altogether 22 flights of six domestic private airlines, including THAI, Nok Air, Thai Air Asia, Orient Thai, P.B. Air and Bangkok Airways, that would fly in and out of Suvarnabhumi Saturday, marking the first commercial flights operated at the new airport, a project that took 45 years and 155 billion baht (3.9 billion U.S. dollars) to be finally completed, which is set for official opening on Sept. 28.

The airport covers an area of 32 square kilometers, with the biggest terminal complex in Asia of 563,000 square meters and the highest flight control center tower of 132 meters. It is expected to cater to 45 million passengers annually.

The Suvarnabhumi airport, in Thai meaning "a place rich of gold ", was named by the King of Thailand Bhumibol Adulyadej.

A recent report from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a United Nations affiliated agency that works for civil aviation safety worldwide, has identified 29 "high risk" areas based on its security checks on Suvarnabhumi, media here said Friday. Domestic critics have consistently questioned the readiness of the airport for its Sept. 28 opening, but the caretaker government has insisted everything would be corrected ahead of the date.

The airport is being run under a interim certificate issued by the Aviation Department of Thailand. It needs a permanent one approved by the ICAO for the opening.

Source: Xinhua